Honda GL 1800 GOLDWING Tour DCT/Airbag 2018 — Specifications

Who can boast of spanning five decades without showing a wrinkle, or nearly so? The Honda GL 1800 Goldwing Tour DCT, 2018 vintage, rises to that challenge with rare composure. After years of piling on the kilos and cubic centimeters, the great Japanese tourer decided to go on a diet. Twenty-two kilos shed from the scales, a redesigned 1833 cc flat-six with 4 valves per cylinder, and above all that game-changing 7-speed DCT automated gearbox. The result is a machine that still weighs 383 kg wet, admittedly, but carries them with an ease the previous generation never knew.

The heart of the matter is precisely this dual-clutch DCT transmission. Honda didn't graft a gadget onto existing mechanicals. The engineers designed the engine and gearbox as a coherent unit, and it shows. Seven ratios, up from five on the previous manual gearbox, for a lower overall weight. The principle is simple on paper: while one gear is working, the next is already engaged, ready to take over without any torque interruption. In practice, three modes are available to the rider. D mode handles all shifts on its own with staggering smoothness, S mode and its three levels (S1, S2, S3) allow more aggressive rev climbs, and manual mode remains accessible via the left handlebar controls for those who want to stay in charge. In every case, a tap on the paddles lets you take back control at any moment before the electronics resume command after a few seconds.

The four riding modes — Tour, Sport, Econ, and Rain — round out the package by simultaneously adjusting throttle response, electronic suspension firmness, brake distribution, and gearbox behavior. Rain mode, notably, limits grip response to a third or half of its range and softens everything else. This is an integrated management system also found on BMW's K 1600 GTL, but Honda adds an ISG system that merges the alternator and starter into a single unit. The engine cuts automatically at red lights and restarts with the discretion of a German sedan when the right hand gets to work. The 126 horsepower at 5500 rpm only tell part of the story. This flat-six lives through its torque — 170 Nm available from 4500 rpm — delivering silky-smooth acceleration at any engine speed.

Faced with 383 kg to maneuver in a parking lot, Honda planned ahead. The "Walking Mode" function lets you move the Goldwing at 1.8 km/h forward and 1.2 km/h in reverse, without touching the gearbox, simply via a button on the handlebar. It's a detail that transforms daily life with a machine of this size. The equipment list would put some cars to shame: airbag (still a Honda exclusive in the motorcycle world), 7-inch color TFT display, Apple CarPlay, keyless ignition, cruise control, heated grips, electric windshield, integrated GPS, Bluetooth audio system. The front end with its double-wishbone suspension — an atypical heritage — delivers stability and steering comfort that a conventional telescopic fork simply cannot match.

At 35,999 euros, this Goldwing Tour DCT plays in the same league as the Indian Roadmaster and Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited. It's aimed at serious tourers, the kind who devour continents two-up without counting the miles. One might lament the cargo capacity reduced to 110 liters and wind protection slightly diminished compared to the previous generation. But the technological richness, the mechanical smoothness of that flat-six, and the refinement of the DCT transmission place this Honda in a class of its own. It's no longer just a touring motorcycle. It's a rolling living room that has finally learned to fade into the background on the road.